"The Sleeping Gold was begun in August - September 2000 when many of the themes and some of the lines were written down to my notebooks and papers. The next Spring I tried to forge it all into a poem but it didn't work out. When Summer came I finally gave up and decided to wait for the fall. And I indulged myself in dancing, drinking, good music, friends, strange conversations and even stranger states of mind – all through the Summer. And when the Fall came, it came. With a few small corrections and changes, The Sleeping Gold was written down before the end of that year, the very most of it during September-October. The music came later on, during the next year. Only Park Romanticism was ready before this; dating from Spring 2001, both music and lyrics, although it changed a little during the years.
The Sleeping Gold is more wistful and warmer than our previous efforts, and for the first time ever vocals are taking the lead. We call it folkish Rock Art Music. The record was mixed and mastered, and also unofficially released, in and around Easter 2006. Unexpected changes occurred during the last steps of its making, but that is just X.X.X.X. And now I ask for all friends and strangers alike, who feel sympathy or even like what we do: promote us everywhere. Get your own copy of TSG and spread it to the world, as this is the age of over populated and over capitalized Rheingoldized music pissness; there is no NEED anymore of that official promoting and buy-this-sell-that kind of bullshit. It is enough if you can find the lyrics from the site and you have a copy of the record. I'm not saying that it would be a bad thing to have a record company and an official release. Of course it would be fine, but it seems the F___ of our band, whether we like it or not, revolves around this little ride and fight against the great flow of..." From a note originally written in 2006
THE SUN TRYST:
Musicians on board:
Tomi Pekkola
Guitars, Vocals and Keys
Jussi Matikainen
Drums and Percussion
Antti Filppu
Text Messages and Vocals
Ilona Laitinen
Bass
WISTFUL AND WARM, FOLKISH
ROCK ART MUSIC
Recorded at studio Beast & Man / in Tampere / by Matikainen and Nurmela / Music needed a few (cold November) weeks 2003 / vocals only a few (hot August) days 2004 / The Rheingold and The Fool’s Gold were mixed and mastered by Matikainen / somewhere between November 2003 - November 2005 / with a few days or weeks of hard work / every now and then / All music was composed by Pekkola & TST / Arrangements were done by Pekkola and Matikainen / with Filppu crossing hands in the background / Saxophone was played by Juha Timonen / Photos were taken by Filppu / Atte Häkkinen refined them into covers / The otherWORDly process of making up and writing down things that shine happened already in the fall of 2001 / but Hard Rain Fell in November 2002 (Words) / Pekkola played and sung it the night before Good Friday 2006 / at the Battery Street Café studio in Hamina / Wolfram was read by Filppu / on Good Friday / at Grandfather's Home studio in Hamina / The original version of Parzival / as it was told 800 years ago / Chapter 9 / where the wise old anchorite Trevrizent teaches the foolish young man / about God and light / love and wrath etc / As Goethe recalled / "I was a shipwrecked sailor, more ill in my soul than in my body!" / to some of us youth is a damned thing / but it goes by like everything else / except those things that never change / These years full of “nothing” / with all of our patience / once again have revealed hidden causes to many side effects / Good things come to those who wait / and they are worth it / Yes, pitié is a French word
The Sun Tryst in March 2009
at the Bomb Shelter, one last time.
The young men from right to left:
Matikainen, Pekkola, Filppu
The photo miraculously shot itself.
"The Thin Young Men is no longer the name of this band, it will now return to its original place as a song title. It is the last chance for this kind of metamorphosis, if we are going to step into the so called open arenas. TYM worked well as a leading motive for a few years. But the fact is, and I have personally felt it for too long already, TYM has been an unnecessary weight on the shoulders. Its meaning is literally too thin, despite what many people have said to me about its nature. I know its nature, I was the one who invented it in September 2000, but I never liked the idea of its expansion into a band name." From a note originally written in 2006
TREVRIZENT SPEAKS: ”These glad tidings tell of the True Lover. He is a light that shines through all things, unwavering in His love. Those to whom He shows His love find contentment in it. His wares are of two sorts: He offers the world love and anger. Now ask yourself which helps more. The unrepentant sinner flees God’s love: but he that atones for his sins serves Him for His noble favour. He that passes through men’s thoughts bears such Grace. Thoughts keep out the rays of the sun, thoughts are shut away without a lock, are secure from all creatures. Thoughts are darkness unlit by any beam. But of its nature, the Godhead is translucent, it shines through the wall of darkness and rides with an unseen leap..."
A PLACE TO HIDE IN THIS CITY: "naming these would make me feel bad, i wouldn't like to name these" / “…like to name these…” / only one would not embitter you / tragedy and whorehouse / "the likes of me went hiding there for the little girls" / and the last tango will be new again / and you can tell them / what happened to the d___efloor, it’s empty of gold / where did you get your eye / "the likes of me went hiding there for the little girls, wrymouthed" / and they’ll come asking / will they answer /(où as-tu trouvé ton oeil) / where did you get your eye / answer in english / "why did you let me suffer"
THE WARMTH: the light throwing us out / bright or not, it’s the same / little did people know / what holds them for a while / and friends who are lonely / how is it with yours, how is it with yours /(how it is with yours, how it is with yours) / the stranger the hours through / to be reading the seventh key / and for being sorry / someone else’s much worse / in healthier cities, they’re sleeping together / i’m hearing old curses / miserly come from elsewhere / of having each other / i’ll give my word for this fever / helping the heart to give up / i’ll get rid of the worthless, get rid of the worthless / it’s better now, to go and lie beside / the swans on the english river are pale / we’ve seen shame in spells, when failing / "...when failing, when failing...when failing, when failing..." / i’d like to have them so / they wouldn’t hurt in warmth / in red at dark / i could give up, everything / whenever the evening’s fine, whenever the evening's fine
HARD RAIN FELL: none of these names would ever live without us / and we already knew them / save us from forgetting how it happened / 'cause they were all taken, they were all taken along / from the lonely crowd (the lonely ground) to wither together / we could ask if anyone's helpless / and what it's like to fail in love / i have lied so often / are there any chances to leave
PARK ROMANTICISM: i didn’t mind / i’m not bitter / the very few times and the years spent / “god, it’s been empty” / something to feel without coming close / i live in the midst of beautiful parks, beautiful streets / we don’t have to try / sour (with amphigories) there’ll be no last / long enough for me / the street by night it's full, of what kind / to your place after this / hear the dirge, then you’re back / “the wind’ll break the glass but i don’t mind if it rains inside” / and to find love (thinking to find love) / would you like me to write it down for you / gone outside in the room upstairs / following the dim light of the lamps / the grief fell for a moment and grew into a storm / enough loss to be here / not gone with the others until now / and i’ll be veiling the leaves this year, also
IN THE CELLAR: trying to think in curves, not getting wet / without a coat of any sort / for the musing, how i liked the sound of it / the end of the month / just the stairs down to the park, more ill in the soul / drinking and smoking / i had to sleep to see the gold / what boredom rising to tell some girl it happens, the ladies’ men rest / if you’ll let me love this world, the two floors / while still in the line / seen there through the crowd / we’re right when hesitating / now over a year ago / in the early morning i was told i blew it, hurrying (from the dead ends of my life) / in the dead ends of my life / and even the bliss of touch / merely a wish, merely a wish / i needed it more than ever before (but i couldn’t leave) / in that other park we stood on the grass / i’ll sit here quietly and melt into this terrible noise (even though they're closing) / sleep it off, cypress / sleep drunkenness
NIGHT CAFE & CONVERSATIONS: already so late / are there (many) places to visit / i let it begin, to hide the worries without fail from this / and you speak to me in french / and you'll care for me, i've been wondering if i'm sensitive after all / i was wondering if i'm sensitive / no sugar for us / and when you're laughing i don't recognize it / any hard feelings from right to left / sickened, they'd hate the tango for me / without them there would be not much hope / "a cup of coffee for the memory and another for the sorrow" / and you speak to me / where are you, where are you / what an anchor my happiness will be / in another state / paper weighing a lot / levity brought to these pieces / and who went dancing in slow motion / later on, we fed some lies / and what you had expected / not that great after all / “but my heart's not as black as your coffee and you're not french, either”
ANCHORAGE: "glowing we opened safely over the anger in it, but i’m not sure what it is" / could you weave me a chance and white clothes / and take these coins from my hand / "forget there's a thank you, 'cause i'm not sure (oh i don't know) if i can think of anything worth the cold eye" / what has now found itself / "i’m so into this that i’ll be drowned" / and then for pitié’s sake at least the heavens / they’ll bring forth a stream or a river as my veins in that song / to cry again and again / i haven’t asked the dear sun / neither a word to be sung with delight / near you in grace / letting the depths glow, too / (i know) i’ll never awake / if i’m taken there / through the last thing in this world i could place myself / the thoughts and the words were first / i’m not cold from within / keeping the will below the sad lines / where endless flashes are hanging / they’ll bring forth a stream or a river as my veins in that song / to cry again and again / i haven’t asked the dear sun / neither a word to be sung with delight / near you in grace / letting the depths glow
TREVRIZENT SPEAKS: "...unaccompanied by thud or jingle. And when a thought springs from one’s heart, none is so swift but that it is scanned ere it pass the skin – and only if it be pure does God accept it. Since God scans thoughts so well, alas, how our frail deeds must pain him! When a man forfeits God’s benevolence so that God turns away in shame, to whose care can human schooling leave him? Where shall the poor soul find refuge? If you are going to wrong God, Who is ready with both Love and Wrath, you are the one who will suffer. Now so direct your thoughts that He will requite your goodness.”
"Etymologies for Trevrizent and his speech: Anchorage means the dwelling place of a hermit. In old English, Anchor used to be hermit. So we had no idea of this when we made TSG, but just like with the two previous albums, this all makes sense. Trevrizent is the good old anchor, who, from a certain point of view, is actually responsible for telling the whole story. It all begins with his words and it all comes back to it, when the music stops. So all of you sailors, whether shipwrecked or going strong, don't forget the real meaning of anchoring". From a note originally written in 2006
The sunny photographs were taken
on Good Friday 2009 at the Hermitage
near Goetheanum, in Arlesheim,
Switzerland, by Antti Filppu.
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Lyrics, references and more photos at
All records are available at